


Final Stage

by SassyUnicorn7



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Ballet Academy AU, Eating Disorders, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Past Rufti Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26190538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyUnicorn7/pseuds/SassyUnicorn7
Summary: For the past seven years of her life, Tifa has done nothing but fantasize about performing ballet on a Midgar stage, and now that she's been accepted to the most prestigious dance academy in the world, she might finally be able to turn that dream into a reality. But, of course, the universe can't cut her too much slack, and decides to drop a handsome distraction in the form of Cloud Strife almost directly into her lap. Being the ex-girlfriend of the legendary Rufus Shinra, Tifa is no novice when it comes to handling haughty dance prodigies too talented and charming for their own good. Although, whatisnew for her is how, despite her best efforts, she can't stop thinking about Cloud's bright eyes or the soft smiles she feels like only she gets to see. She's been burned before and doesn't intend to jeopardize her dream knowing she'll most likely get burned again. However, even people with the best intentions sometimes falter.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart & Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, Zack Fair & Aerith Gainsborough, Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough
Comments: 50
Kudos: 67





	1. Ballet and Boys

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever Cloti fic! w00t w00t! \\(^^)/
> 
> It's T for now, but be forewarned this is eventually going to get smutty! I'll change the rating when it does (b^_^)b
> 
> Also adding characters and tags as I go.
> 
> Huge shoutout to my betas Waffle, Calytrix (and sometimes Panda!) You guys rock my socks!

“Need some help?”

Those three words strung together created one of Tifa Lockhart’s least favorite sentences. For starters, she prided herself on being independent and disliked the idea of appearing weak, vulnerable or _in need of help._ And where was she now? The place she’d dreamed of being for the past seven years of her life. She was in the heart of the largest city in the world and a mere two blocks away from walking through the doors of the Midgar School of Ballet. Tifa could feel her cheeks beginning to ache from the smile that had been carved across her face all morning. She was feeling stronger and more accomplished than she’d felt in years, yet somehow she gave off the vibe that she _needed some help?_

Granted, the wheel on her oversized suitcase did just break off and she nearly toppled backward from the sudden jolt of her luggage’s loss of mobility. But still, she wished the random passerby would’ve just minded his own business instead of inquiring about hers.

“I’m fine,” Tifa told the stranger, not even looking up to acknowledge him as she tried to force the dislodged wheel back into place.

“I’m well aware of how _fine_ you are, Tifa Lockhart.”

Tifa froze. Although she didn’t recall his smooth, debonair voice at first, she certainly did now. It had been over two years since she’d heard it, but that excessively self-assured tone was probably the furthest thing from forgettable. At least for her.

“Rufus Shinra…” Tifa said, standing up and turning around to face the dance prodigy himself.

“Oh, good. You remember me.” That’s what his mouth said, but everything from his piercing blue eyes to his smug expression screamed _of course you remember me._

“Not for a lack of trying to forget you,” Tifa said with a tight-lipped smile. It was an honest attempt to offend him, though she predicted he would react by breathing a subdued chuckle through his nose and tightening his jaw to keep from showing how truly amused he was by the remark. And he did just that.

Rufus knelt down and turned his attention to her suitcase, but Tifa was quick to drag the bulky bag across the pavement and out of his reach.

“I said I’m fine,” she reminded him. “I don’t need anybody’s help. Especially yours.”

He rose up with so much poise and grace he might as well have been finishing a grand reverence to a captive audience, with his eyes never leaving hers. “That’s a shame… I was hoping we could maybe pick up where we left off in Nibelheim.”

“Left off?” Tifa scoffed. “The only thing that got _left_ was me. No phone calls. No messages. Nothing. And now that we’re suddenly in the same city again and it’s convenient for you, you wanna try to work things out?” She rolled her eyes as she crouched down to pick up her suitcase and carry it like an extremely obese child. “I don’t think so.”

She gave one last tight-lipped smile before pivoting on her heel and leaving him in the middle of the semi-busy sidewalk, silently cursing herself for wearing a skirt with thigh highs that day. She didn’t even have to look to know he was standing there watching the sway of her hips until she turned the corner.

_Some things never change,_ she thought with a sigh as she hitched her suitcase higher to get a better grip. _And some things do,_ she reminded herself once the MSB building came into view.

She made it. After seven years of working her ass off to become a professional ballerina, she finally made it to the most renowned school of dance in the world.

* * *

It took Tifa a good twenty minutes to navigate the colossal building that made up the entire Midgar School of Ballet and locate her dorm room, but she was happy to see a smiling face upon opening the door.

“You must be Tifa,” the girl said the second their eyes met.

“And you must be Aerith,” Tifa replied, crouching down to drop her bag to the floor and then rising up to extend her hand.

The auburn-haired beauty stood from the computer desk she’d been seated at, ignored Tifa’s outstretched hand, and wrapped her arms around her new roommate’s neck in an enthusiastic hug. “You’re even prettier than your profile picture, and that’s saying something!” Aerith told her when she finally pulled away, still smiling from ear to ear.

Tifa had agreed to be given a random roommate upon receiving her acceptance letter to MSB since all students were required to live in the dormitories and she didn’t know anybody prior to her arrival. Well, save for Rufus Shinra, but there was no way in hell she would have agreed to share a room with him even if boys were allowed to room with girls, which they weren’t.

A followup email explained that a girl named Aerith Gainsborough would be her roommate for the next nine months, and Tifa received a friend request on Chocobook from said Aerith Gainsborough that very same day. They’d exchanged a few messages, likes, and comments in the three weeks that led up to their official meeting, so Tifa felt she already knew her new roomie fairly well. To sum her up, she was bubbly, outgoing, and every bit as sweet as her smile made her seem. As far as she could tell, Tifa totally lucked out in the random roommate lottery.

“I’m sure you want to unpack and everything, but once you do, would you like me to give you the grand tour?” Aerith asked.

“That’d be great,” Tifa said, Aerith’s energy feeding her own.

Although both girls just enrolled in the coveted advanced class at MSB, Aerith was much more familiar with the city and the ballet world in general. She grew up in Midgar and had been taking classes at the flagship studio since she was seven. Though there were sister schools of ballet—including the one in Nibelheim where Tifa learned her craft—it was still considered a bit of a “shoulder brush” to take classes from the Midgar School of Ballet before even being accepted into the actual career program. She’d never admit it, but Tifa was a tad bit envious of Aerith in that respect. Every little bit of clout helped get you where you wanted to go in the dance world, and the only things Tifa had going for her, being an orphan from a middle-of-nowhere town, were her talent and persistence.

_But that was enough to get my foot in the door,_ Tifa reminded herself as she put her last pair of thigh highs in her dresser and closed the drawer. _I have just as much right to be here as anyone else._

“You ready to go?” Aerith asked upon observing the now empty suitcase on Tifa’s bed, her fingers working diligently to wrap a hair tie at the end of the long braid she’d transformed her high ponytail into. Tifa gave a nod of confirmation and the two girls strode out of their dorm room, locking the door behind them.

“First stop is the dance studios!” Aerith said once they made their way to the elevators. “There are eight total, but we’ll only spend time in two, for the most part. Studio A is for the girls, studio B is for the boys, and studio C is for pas de deux class.”

“What are the other five studios for?” Tifa asked.

“Younger students and workshops.”

Tifa was once again reminded that some of her classmates, including Aerith, had the advantage of being familiar with the teachers. Though she knew it shouldn’t bother her, it didn’t change the fact that it did.

“Having a clean slate here is actually a good thing,” Aerith mentioned as a loud ding sounded and the elevator doors opened. “Once you get on an instructor’s bad side, it’s hard to redeem yourself.”

Tifa’s eyes snapped up to look at her. She was positive she hadn’t spoken out loud, but apparently _‘perceptive’_ was going to have to be added to the list of words that described her new roommate. Somewhere between bubbly and sweet, maybe…

The studios were every bit as big and immaculate as Tifa expected the world’s most renowned dance academy’s studios to be, and each one was the exact same. An entire wall was made up of windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling and covered by sheer drapes that slightly trailed on the hardwood floor. Opposite the windows was a wall completely made of mirrors free of smudges or streaks. Several barres were hoarded against the wall furthest from the entrance and the ceiling was vaulted, making it seem even more spacious.

“How many students are in our class again? Fifty-two, right?” Tifa wondered as her eyes took in the space.

“That’s right. Twenty-six boys and twenty-six girls,” Aerith said happily.

The studios could easily fit double that number.

Tifa’s eyes zeroed in on the grand piano tucked in the back corner by the window wall of each room they peeped into; perhaps because that instrument was what actually got Tifa involved with ballet in the first place. The Nibelheim School of Dance used live piano music as well, and being one of the most accomplished pianists in her hometown despite her age, Tifa was sought out to play for the school from time to time. Eventually, after falling in love with the way the students moved, she stopped asking for monetary payment for her services and agreed to play in exchange for her own dance lessons. Granted, she was only thirteen at the time and getting paid under the table, so they could have easily turned her down. But the manager chose to oblige her, and the rest was history.

Once Tifa was ready to move on, Aerith announced their next stop was the fitness center. Tifa was shocked to learn students had access to a gym complete with an indoor track and Olympic swimming pool.

“Dancers have to stay in shape,” Aerith reminded her as they made their way around the long line of treadmills. “We have doctors and nutritionists on hand, too. Oh, and guidance counselors! Mental health is just as important as physical health! Speaking of… we can actually make our way to the infirmary next.”

After visiting said infirmary, they hit the library, the computer lab, the parking garage, and then the boys’ wing of the dormitories because, in Aerith’s words, _why the hell not?_ She wasn’t kidding when she said she’d give Tifa the grand tour, so much so that Tifa was prepared for her to say they were doing a walkthrough of the bathrooms next, but apparently Aerith wasn’t _that_ in-depth.

“I saved the best for last, though! The cafeteria!” Aerith said as they made their way back to the elevators once Tifa saw the boys’ dormitories were pretty much a mirror image of the girls’. Well, the hallways at least. For all she knew, the actual dorm rooms could’ve been the same size as the dance studios, complete with their own grand pianos, too. Tifa wouldn’t have been surprised. MSB was huge and only seemed to be getting bigger by the minute.

Suddenly, the loud crack of something breaking drew their attention to the ceiling just before a six-foot-tall man came crashing through in a burst of dust and debris.

Tifa’s hands moved on their own, reaching out to grab her new friend’s arm and pull her out of harm’s way. Thankfully, the man crash-landed a good distance ahead of them, but if either Tifa or Aerith had taken just a few more steps, they’d most likely be down on the ground, too, with serious concussions.

“Ouch…” the fallen stranger groaned. Tifa felt a wave of relief wash over her. He was still alive.

Aerith tentatively approached so that when the man opened his eyes she was directly in his line of sight, standing over him.

“Heaven?” he asked, his striking blue eyes slowly starting to focus.

“Not quite,” Aerith replied, a smirk steadily making its way across her face.

The stranger was beginning to show signs of a smirk, too. “Could’ve fooled me. You look like an angel.”

_Is he seriously flirting after having a near-death experience like that?!_ Tifa screamed inside her head.

“I prefer Aerith.”

Tifa rolled her eyes. She couldn’t really fault the guy if Aerith was going to dish it right back just as flirty if not flirtier.

“Aerith, huh?” The man seemed to have regained his bearings entirely and did a kip-up off the floor. Tifa was going to offer to escort him to the infirmary (now that she knew where it was) but after that stunt, she realized he was probably in better physical condition than herself.

“I’m Zack,” he said with a grin Tifa felt had been the downfall of many a girl. She glanced at Aerith and from the number of stars she saw blinking to life in her bright green eyes, it looked like she was one pickup line away from falling, too.

Zack dusted himself off, shaking a few pieces of debris from his spiky black hair. “Sorry if I scared you ladies. Guess I shouldn’t have eaten those cookies earlier…”

“What are you? Some kind of maintenance man?” Aerith surmised, though Tifa thought it a poor guess. While it was true someone performing maintenance might have a reason to be crawling through the ventilation system, judging from Zack’s lack of tools and _You can’t please everybody. You are not a taco_ shirt, she had a sneaking suspicion he was off the clock and up to no good. His hesitation was another dead giveaway he was prepping to lie through his teeth. Nobody had to take a minute to second-guess what they did for a living.

“I, uh… yeah. Just wanted to make sure everything’s up and running for the new students tomorrow,” Zack said with an uneasy chuckle. “Can’t have those kids doing pirouettes till they drop if they don’t have air-conditioning!”

Aerith folded her arms across her chest. “Is that right?” she asked, every bit as skeptical as Tifa now.

_Thank goodness she can see through his bullshit even though she obviously finds him attractive,_ Tifa thought. Aerith was scoring all kinds of points in her book today.

“I feel really bad about startling you ladies, though,” the supposed maintenance man said, scratching the back of his head. “Can I make it up to you?”

Aerith turned her eyes up toward the hole in the ceiling and twisted her mouth as if she were seriously mulling this over. “What’d you have in mind?” she asked.

“How about one date?” Zack asked.

“Pass,” came Tifa’s immediate reply. It was one thing to offer a date as a means of apology. It was another entirely to offer such a thing to two girls at the same time. _This guy is definitely a player,_ Tifa thought. And she didn’t come to Midgar to play. She came to train.

“Oh, um,” Zack stuttered, as if acknowledging Tifa’s presence for the first time. “I was thinking more like a double date.”

Tifa narrowed her eyes questioningly at him. “Taking two girls out at the same time isn’t classified as a double date. That’s just called sleazy,” she clarified.

Zack grit his teeth and glared up at the opening in the ceiling. “This would be a lot easier to explain if someone would stop hiding,” he all but growled, but loud enough to make it evident he wasn’t speaking to Tifa or Aerith.

Tifa followed his gaze up to the hole just in time to see a head of pale blond spikes slide into view.

Without a word, the blonde latched on to the edge of the opening and flipped himself through, only releasing his hold when his feet were a short distance from ground so that he landed with a graceful drop. Much more stylish than Zack’s entrance, though definitely not as showy. But the way his white shirt hugged around his torso and biceps as he performed the maneuver was somewhat eye-catching in its own right.

“Show-off,” Zack grumbled.

“Just what I do best,” the apparent show-off said, placing one hand on his hip.

“Why’d it take you so long to come down? Were you waiting on an invitation, or what?” Zack asked.

The blonde shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and shrugged, somehow effectively making him seem more innocent, especially in contrast to the cocky pose he transitioned from. “I was enjoying watching you squirm,” he admitted with a smile that was every bit as charming as that of his raven-haired acquaintance. “Plus, I was gonna stay up there and go fix the air conditioning unit. Can’t have those kids doing pirouettes till they drop if they don’t have it.”

Tifa found herself smiling at the obvious fun he was poking at Zack.

“Ha. Ha,” Zack laughed mockingly. “Well, now that you’ve decided to grace us with your presence, what do you say we take these two ladies somewhere to apologize for nearly giving them heart attacks.”

“I didn’t do anything. Your fat ass is the one that fell through the ceiling, not mine.”

Tifa could already tell Zack was a lot of things, but fat was certainly not one of them. While he stood a good head taller than the blonde, not including either of their spiky hairstyles, every inch of him below his chin seemed to consist of solid muscle. The blonde looked fairly athletic, too, but was much leaner in mass. The perfect physique for a ballet dancer, actually.

“You’re seriously gonna pass up the chance to take a hottie like this out for coffee?” Zack asked, surprising Tifa by placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her so that she and his companion were directly facing each other.

The first thing she noticed was his eyes. They were a shade of blue she’d never seen before, so deep and saturated that blue didn’t even feel like the correct color to call them. _Turquoise is more fitting,_ she thought when she noticed the faint starburst of green surrounding his pupils. She probably would’ve gotten lost in them if they hadn’t moved to look her up and down. The smirk that slanted up the side of his face as the result of this action drew Tifa out of her daze. _Birds of a feather…_ she thought, rolling her eyes and hoping his stunning ones caught the gesture once they finished checking her out.

“Well, when you put it like that…” he said, smirk still firmly in place and unaffected by her obvious distaste for the way he ogled her.

“We were actually just on our way to the cafeteria here,” Aerith said. “You boys can join us, if you’d like.”

“Food sounds way better than coffee!” Zack enthusiastically replied, smacking the set of washboard abs that were undoubtedly hidden beneath his shirt.

“Didn’t you say you ate too many cookies earlier?” the blonde reminded him.

“The damage is already done,” Zack said, casting one last look at the hole in the ceiling. “Besides, we should get out of here before somebody realizes we’re the culprits.”

He only took a few strides down the hall before Aerith caught up to him. “That’s not very responsible, you know. Aren’t you afraid of losing your job?” she teased. It was evident neither of these guys did maintenance, but apparently she wasn’t ready to let the joke go yet. Both she and Zack continued their flirtatious banter as they made their way to the cafeteria, Tifa falling about five steps behind.

“I’m Cloud, by the way,” the blonde said as he came up to walk beside her.

Tifa nodded like that was interesting but remained silent.

“This is usually the part where you tell me your name,” Cloud added once he realized she wasn’t going to respond.

“Tifa.”

“Tifa…” he repeated, like he wanted to test how her name tasted.

“This isn’t really a date,” she said flatly. She shouldn’t have even had to say it, but figured better to be on the same page now than have to apologize for leading him on later. “I came here to study ballet, not boys.”

“Oh, one hundred percent,” Cloud agreed. Tifa turned to look him in his too-blue-to-be-true eyes again. “I didn’t come here for boys either.” His charming smile returned with a vengeance and Tifa knew one thing in that precise moment.

Cloud was going to be trouble, and lots of it.


	2. Hungry for Something Else

The cafeteria was two stories tall and had an assortment of different eateries to choose from on both levels. The most notable feature, though, was the giant tree in glass casing at the center of the enormous room. Midgar didn’t have a lot of plants that Tifa had seen, so she thought perhaps this was the academy’s way of compensating.

By the time they made it to the cafeteria, the girls confirmed what they’d already known: Zack and Cloud were also students at MSB and neither had ever worked as a maintenance man a day in his life.

“So what were you doing in the ceiling, then?” Aerith asked as they got in the pizzeria line on the second floor.

“Mapping an escape route for future purposes,” Zack said with a mischievous grin.

Aerith cocked an eyebrow. “You realize they have fire escape routes marked throughout the building, right?”

“I’m not talking about in the emergency of a fire,” Zack told her. “I’m talking about in the emergency of a social butterfly like myself needing a chance to spread his wings.”

Aerith and Tifa exchanged confused looks before Zack saw fit to elaborate.

“The academy has a curfew,” he said. “But it’s ten o’clock, even on weekends, which is ridiculously early for spry young guys in their early twenties such as ourselves. So we were trying to figure out ways to get around the curfew by figuring out ways to get around the school.”

“I think you boys have seen one too many secret agent movies if your first choice was the ventilation system,” Tifa said.

Zack shrugged. “It was either the air vent in our room or the window, and that was a drop I didn’t feel like taking,” he said. Tifa couldn’t fault him for that. The boys’ dorms were seven stories up. The girls’ were one more above that. She thought him falling through the ceiling onto the thin carpet of the hallway had been unlucky, but in comparison to him falling seven whole stories onto the pavement of a busy Midgar sidewalk, maybe not so much.

Tifa glanced at Cloud who had been awfully quiet for the whole exchange. “So did a _spry young guy such as yourself_ get suckered into this because he’s your roommate or did you tag along because you actually wanted to find ways to break curfew, too? I’m guessing it’s the former.”

A smile slowly formed on Cloud’s face. “We met you about fifteen minutes ago, and it’s like you’ve known us our whole lives.”

“Whole lives? So you two knew each other before coming here?” Tifa asked.

“Yup!” Zack proudly proclaimed, hanging one of his muscular arms around Cloud’s neck. “Born and raised in Gongaga! Mom runs a dance academy there. I took classes because I was kinda forced to, but Cloud started taking them ’cause he actually enjoyed it, even when he was a kid. We’ve been buddies ever since. Even got accepted into MSB the same year. What are the odds, right?”

“Pretty slim,” Tifa admitted. Only fifty-two students from all over the world got accepted into the advanced class every year, so the chances of multiple students from anywhere that wasn’t the Midgar getting in at the same time were almost nonexistent. Tifa had been the only one from Nibelheim to make it, but that wasn’t surprising. A backwater place like her hometown wasn’t exactly known for cranking out famous ballerinas. But with a name like _Gongaga,_ she couldn’t imagine their hometown being much different.

By the time it was their turn to order, Tifa approached the cashier first.

“Will this be together or separate?” the cheery cashier asked.

Before Tifa could answer, Cloud stepped up beside her and said, “We’re together.”

Tifa blushed and then promptly cursed herself for blushing, knowing full well he didn’t mean _together_ together. He just wanted to pay for her meal. But Tifa had never agreed to this arrangement and didn’t particularly feel like owing him anything.

“No, it’s separate.”

“No, I insist,” Cloud said, using his damnably alluring eyes to hypnotize her into giving in before turning his attention back to the cashier and saying, “Together,” with the same firmness his stare was projecting.

Tifa conceded. “You win.”

Cloud smirked. “I’m used to it.”

_Did he seriously just say that?_ Tifa thought. She’d only seen his level of cockiness in one other person, and that conceited asshole was Rufus Shinra. Perhaps it was her ill feelings towards her ex egging her on, but she suddenly had the urge to wipe that arrogant smirk clean off Cloud’s face. And she had just the idea to accomplish her goal. “So I can order whatever I want?” she asked.

“Of course. You’re a ballerina. How much can you eat?”

The grin she gave him in response must’ve been more wicked than she’d intended, for his smug smirk was already starting to falter. She turned to the cashier, grin still in place, and said, “I’ll have one six-inch chicken Alfredo pizza with extra chicken and cheese, an order of breadsticks, a Gold Saucer salad with as many olives as you can pile on there, a Junon styled panini, and a chocolate chip pizookie for dessert.”

She cast Cloud a sideways glance to see not only was his smirk gone, but his eyebrows had also disappeared somewhere beneath the blond spikes hanging down over his forehead. And though she couldn’t tell for sure, she thought he might have inadvertently dislocated his jaw judging from how slack it was now.

“Anything else?” he managed to ask, his disbelief as apparent in his tone as it was on his face.

“Oh! And an extra-large Banora White Apple Juice,” Tifa said with a beam as bright as the afternoon sunlight seeping in through the sky roof above the giant tree in the middle of the cafeteria.

Cloud let out a soft, incredulous cough that had a hint of amusement to it, too, before pulling his wallet out of the pocket of his sweatpants. “I’ll have what she’s having,” he told the cashier, “except make mine a _Diet_ Banora White Apple Juice. I’m watching my figure.”

“There’s no way you’re gonna eat all that,” Tifa challenged, folding her arms across her chest.

Cloud shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

“Do I sense a food-eating completion coming on?” Zack inquired from behind.

Tifa looked from Cloud to Zack to Aerith, her new roommate nodding enthusiastically, seemingly more thrilled about the idea than any of them.

“All right, fine. You’re on,” Tifa said, her successful attempt at dumbfounding Cloud fueling her confidence and thrumming throughout her entire body. “What are the stakes?”

“How ’bout if I win you give me your number and if _you_ win, I give you my number?” Cloud offered.

“Not interested,” Tifa deadpanned.

Cloud smirked like that was the reply he was hoping she’d give.

“Ooh! I know! What if the loser goes to orientation tomorrow in a frilly pink tutu?” Aerith suggested. “Neither of you took classes here when you were younger, right? So you can just say you didn’t know the dress code.”

As funny as it would be to see Cloud don a frilly pink tutu, Tifa didn’t want to chance ruining her standing with any of her instructors—especially as early as the first day—by showing up in something so silly. She was taking her time at the academy _very_ seriously, and gaudy tutus didn’t exactly give off the most professional vibe, even in the ballet world.

But before Tifa could protest, Cloud did it for her. “I’d rather not start off on the wrong foot here. Why doesn’t the loser just wear it on the weekend instead?”

“I like that better,” Tifa agreed.

“Aw, you guys are no fun,” Zack whined with a pout.

“You and Aerith are more than welcome to have a competition of your own with _more fun_ consequences,” Tifa told him.

Zack scratched the back of his neck. “Well, I would, but… Oh, hey! We’re holding up the line. C’mon, Aerith. What do you want?”

“Mm-hmm,” Tifa hummed. “That’s what I thought.”

She turned her attention to Cloud and caught him smiling at her yet again before averting his gaze. His smile and smirk had the most subtle differences, but the difference in how they affected Tifa was quite drastic. While his smirk made her put up her defenses and set off the warning sirens in her head, his smile just as easily tore those walls down and transformed the sirens into the melodic sounds of an angels’ chorus. That was why she wished he’d stop making any sort of mouth movement in her general vicinity. She may have been able to recognize the signs of a playboy, but that didn’t make her immune to falling victim to them. Unfortunately.

_Get a grip,_ she chided herself, focusing a little too hard on Aerith and Zack’s idle banter as a means of ignoring the blonde beside her and all of the beautiful things his face was capable of.

After they received their mountains of food, the quartet of dancers made their way downstairs and found a table big enough to hold their massive spread. Cloud and Tifa sat on the same side of the table meant for six with their pizzas, salads, breadsticks, paninis, and pizookies laid out before them.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first ever Midgar School of Ballet Binge-fest!” Zack said in a boisterous announcer voice. He’d decided to document their little event on his PHS and was currently holding the device right in front of Tifa’s face. “We have contestant number one, Miss Tifa… Tifa…?”

“Lockhart.”

“Miss Tifa Lockhart!” Zack shouted.

“Shhh! People are starting to stare!” Tifa hissed.

“That’s the point! This is a spectacle,” Zack said with the shittiest of shit-eating grins.

Tifa buried her face in her hands. This was getting out of control.

“Where’re you from, Miss Lockhart?”

“Nibelheim,” she mumbled from behind her palms. She figured complying would be the best way to move this along.

“Bumble-fuck! All right. Never been there myself, but I’ve heard the weather is beautiful! And what do you hope to gain by winning today?”

She sighed. “Honestly, I’m just hungry.”

“And who doesn’t like a girl who can eat her weight in Midgarian food? I know I do because, sometimes, they have really cute roommates,” Zack said with a wink in Aerith’s direction before panning his PHS over to the second competitor. “And here’s contestant number two, Mister Cloud Strife! Now, tell us what a ballet superstar all the way from Gongaga is doing in a competition like this.”

“Zack… If you don’t want to start answering your PHS by burping because of how far it’s shoved up your ass, just give us the countdown,” Cloud said with a deadly glint in his eyes.

“You heard the man, Aerith. Count ’em down!” Zack continued without losing a single ounce of charisma despite the threat. He backed away so that Aerith was in frame as she moved between the two competitors on the opposite side of the table.

“Three… two… one… go!”

“And they’re off! Tifa makes an interesting choice by going for the pizookie first. That’s probably the heaviest thing on the table, though, so if she can get through that, she can get through anything. Cloud, on the other hand, is going the more traditional route and digging into that salad. There are so many olives in that thing, it looks more black than green. Aerith, did you know olives are an aphrodisiac?”

Zack turned his PHS to record Aerith as she giggled at his fun fact. “I do now,” she said. “Although, I don’t think either of them are going to be up for _that_ kind of excitement after this.”

“Truer words have never been spoken! Their sex lives are definitely going to take a backseat after this match. Makes you wonder how they’re going to perform in class tomorrow. Tifa’s pas de deux partner is gonna need a crane to lift her!”

Tifa decided it might be best to disregard Zack, lest she stop eating in favor of punching him in the face. And since her competitive nature was getting the better of her, she didn’t have time to waste on laying their annoying announcer out. She was officially in it to win it, and not just for the glory of victory. There was no telling how many unsolicited smirks and smiles she’d receive as a result of Cloud seeing her in a tutu—especially if he knew she was wearing it because of him—and she didn’t care to find out. _I need to focus!_ Tifa thought, both in terms of the contest and what she was doing at the academy to begin with.

Zack may have been a bit of a pest, but he’d been right about one thing. She did, indeed, go for the dessert first because she knew downing chocolate on a full stomach would be a lot harder than throwing back something like breadsticks or salad, at least for her. Once finished with the pizookie, she went for the second heaviest thing, the panini. Unfortunately, Zack’s commentary had been loud enough to draw some attention, so several people had gathered around them by the time she was moving on to her pizza.

“What’s your name?” Zack asked a young girl with a bob of black hair and dark, almond-shaped eyes. She and her auburn-haired friend had been two of the first people to show an interest in their impromptu food-eating competition.

“Yuffie Kisaragi,” she said.

“And tell me what brings you to the first ever Binge-fest today.”

“I came to the cafeteria to fill my own stomach, but it’s somehow extremely more satisfying to watch them fill theirs,” she said with a giggle as Tifa took several big gulps of her apple juice.

Tifa glanced at Cloud’s side of the table from the corner of her eye as she set the beverage back down to discover they were pretty evenly matched. His plastic salad bowl sat off to the side, empty, as did the box that originally contained his personal pan pizza. He was currently gnawing into his panini, seemingly unbothered by the small audience that had gathered around them or Zack’s idiotic antics. Tifa could only imagine how unattractive she looked as she ravenously devoured her food, but Cloud had such a baby face that his puffy cheeks actually made him look adorable as he shoveled in mouthful after mouthful. She suspected that’s why most of the people watching them were female.

“What’s your name, dude?”

“Reno.”

“And what brings your red-headed self out to the Binge-fest, Reno?”

“The blonde is really hot.”

Never mind. Both the female _and_ male spectators were there for Cloud. _Even more reason to win this thing,_ Tifa thought as she took another giant bite out of her overly cheesy pizza. Nothing quite as satisfying as proving naysayers wrong and coming out on top. She’d done it before, and she’d do it again. She had to.

By the last leg of the competition, the crowd had grown to about twenty or so people, and they were all chanting, _“Eat! Eat! Eat! Eat!”_ Eventually, Aerith and Zack got them to choose sides, Aerith leading the “Tifa!” chants, and Zack hyping up his buddy with the cries for “Cloud!”

Cloud was having a slightly harder time chewing. He’d saved the pizookie for last, and the ooey, gooey chocolate chips weren’t doing him any favors. Meanwhile, Tifa was down to her last two breadsticks. She had to take deep breaths in between each bite, but considering how long it was taking Cloud to polish off his dessert, she felt like it was time she could afford. Deciding to focus on her food instead of her competition, Tifa ate her remaining breadstick without even glancing in Cloud’s direction. When she finally put the last morsel in her mouth, screams erupted, but she noticed they were from both sides of the table and promptly looked over to see the pizookie was nothing but crumbs. When her eyes traveled up to find Cloud’s face, it took everything she had not to laugh and spit out her half-masticated breadstick. If it had been a chubby-cheeked hamster impersonating contest instead of a food-eating contest, Cloud would’ve had her beat, no question.

“Not only do they have to swallow, folks, but they’ll have to down the rest of their apple juice as well,” Zack reminded them.

Cloud and Tifa both reached for their respective juices in preparation to chug. The second Tifa felt the large lump of breadstick slide down her throat, she brought her straw to her lips and sucked like she was lost in space and it was her sole source of oxygen. Cloud wasn’t far behind her and had less juice left to drink, but miraculously, they both came up for air at the exact same time.

“That’s gonna be a photo finish!” Zack said, still maintaining his announcer persona as everybody’s cheers rang through the cafeteria.

“Unbelievable!” Aerith squealed, running up behind Tifa’s chair and giving her a backwards hug. “I’ve never seen a girl eat like that!”

“Not too tight. You’re gonna make it come back up,” Tifa said with a slight gurgle before putting a fist over her mouth and belching into it.

Aerith immediately released her hold as if Tifa had electrocuted her. “Oh, right! Sorry! But, wow! That was amazing!”

“It sure was!” the girl that had introduced herself as Yuffie said as she approached Tifa’s side of the table. “And Aerith told us you’re starting the advanced class here at MSB tomorrow, too? Geez… Your metabolism must be crazy.”

It was true. Tifa had been blessed with a fairly fast metabolism, but she didn’t typically pig out like this on the daily. In fact, she did the opposite. Due to the nature of being a dancer, she almost always ate healthy and exercised accordingly. She didn’t have the energy to explain that at the moment, though, so she just offered Yuffie a weak smile.

Once the excitement had died down and Zack had a chance to review the video, he stood up on a chair to announce the winner. “It was a long, grueling match, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that both of their stomachs are in sheer agony right now. The only thing they probably want more than the results is an antacid!”

“Just get on with it,” Cloud groaned. The weary look on his face made it seem Zack’s assumption was as accurate for him as it was for Tifa, though.

Zack cleared his throat. “Right. So, without further ado… the winner of the first ever MSB Binge-fest is… Tifa Lockhart!”

Everybody who had been Team Tifa hollered in delight. Tifa felt a wide smile spread across her face while simultaneously feeling the hands of Yuffie and Aerith grabbing her shoulders and shaking her as they jumped up and down. Yuffie’s auburn-haired friend was also close by, twirling around in her merriment.

The guy named Reno approached Zack. “I wanna see the video footage for myself,” he said. “I could’ve sworn they tied.”

“Oh, they definitely did,” Zack agreed.

Reno blinked in confusion. “So why does she win, then? It should be a draw,” he argued.

“Because Cloud drank Diet Banora Apple Juice and Tifa had regular. She consumed more calories,” Zack explained matter-of-factly.

“That’s stupid!” a girl with short blond hair protested. She had obviously been Team Cloud, too. “You should have them do a tie-breaker or something.”

“What? Did you have money on this?” Zack asked with a laugh. “It was just supposed to be for fun.” He turned to Cloud who was still slumped down in his seat, slowly digesting both his food and everything happening around him. “What do you think? You gonna contest my call?”

Cloud gave a half-hearted shrug. “Nah,” he said, somewhat taking Tifa by surprise. He’d seemed just as competitive as her throughout the entire affair. She would’ve thought he’d jump at the chance to spare his ego the shame of defeat, especially considering this whole thing started because she was trying to take him down a peg.

But he didn’t. He let it go. And when he finally locked eyes with Tifa, he offered her a genuine smile; one that she hadn’t seen before and made her silently wonder if losing would’ve actually been the lesser of two evils, for unlike his previous smirks and smiles, she didn’t think she’d ever be able to forget something so striking. The best part was it felt like the rest of the room evaporated the second their eyes met. Like they were in their own secret, secluded world. Like he’d reserved that smile just for her. The worst part was Tifa smiled back.

“There you have it, folks!” Zack said, hopping down from his chair. “Tifa Lockhart is the undisputed champ!”

Tifa basked in the adoration of her new fans, doing her best to avoid making anymore unnecessary eye-contact with her fellow food-eating competitor. It took about half an hour for the crowd to disperse, but Tifa didn’t mind idling around. It gave her time to recuperate and digest, but not fully. She was still fairly off-kilter by the time they left the cafeteria, almost to the point that she wished they’d brought a wheelbarrow along with them so Aerith could just roll her back to their dorm.

“Gotta admit, I’m impressed,” Cloud said once they reached the elevator. “I honestly didn’t think a girl could eat all that. Much less a ballerina.”

Tifa tried to fight the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, but she would’ve had better luck if she hadn’t made the mistake of looking Cloud in the eyes again. She was defenseless under his gaze. She’d have to work on that.

“I like surprising people,” she confessed before the ding for the elevator’s arrival sounded. “I also think you’d look much better in a tutu than me.”

For the first time since she’d met him, she made Cloud laugh, and she hated how much she liked the sound of it. It was warm and hearty and every bit as genuine as that damn smile that kept flashing to the forefront of her mind.

“We’ll have to go somewhere public for Cloud to strut his stuff on Saturday,” Aerith said once they climbed aboard and pushed the buttons for the seventh and eighth floors. “Preferably _before_ curfew, so we don’t have to use the air vents to sneak in and out.”

“Good idea,” Zack said. He then gestured to Cloud and Tifa. “There’s no way those things could support the weight of these two fat-asses.”

“Says the fat-ass who fell through first,” Cloud countered.

“And I’m so very glad he did,” Aerith said, giving Zack one of the sweetest smiles Tifa had seen her make all day. They’d barely known the Gongagans for two hours, and the girl was already going gaga over one of them.

_They’re obviously charming and handsome. No use denying it,_ Tifa thought as she side-eyed Cloud, admiring the profile of his jawline and the way his long lashes touched his cheeks when his eyes were closed. _But at least I know better._

She reminded herself of the shameless way Cloud had looked her up and down upon first meeting her and his haughty behavior that was so very reminiscent of her ex. She’d been down that road, knew exactly where it led, and had no intention of making that same trip a second time.

Having a guy break her heart was one thing, but being forced to see said guy in dance class almost every day for the next nine months was another thing entirely. A small part of her wanted to get on the next train bound for Nibelheim after bumping into Rufus that morning. Gods only knew how much that part of her would grow and intensify if she developed similar feelings toward Cloud.

Tifa couldn’t afford to go home, not when her dream was finally within her grasp, and that was the one thought that gave her the strength to resist his charms. She just hoped it would continue to be enough.

Once the elevator reached the seventh floor, Zack gave an exaggerated curtsy. “It was a pleasure meeting you ladies. Until our paths cross again,” he said. Tifa was surprised he didn’t take Aerith’s hand and kiss it. She was in range.

Cloud settled for a much less grandiose means of farewell by simply nodding his head and saying, “See you round.”

Tifa’s stomach lurched at the same moment he spoke, and she couldn’t tell if it was because she was subconsciously giddy about the prospect of seeing him around or if it was just indigestion. _Probably indigestion. That much junk food is gonna be turning in your tummy for a while,_ she convinced herself.

As soon as the doors closed, Aerith collapsed against the metal wall of the elevator. “Oh my gosh. I’m _so glad_ I decided to audition for the advanced class!”

Tifa pursed her lips and shook her head, both minor movements yet still enough to snap Aerith out of her dreamy daze. “What? Don’t tell me you’re not the least bit attracted to them,” she said. “The boys in Nibelheim must be something else if you’re not. They don’t make ’em like that in Midgar.”

“I just find it funny how you’re more excited about boys than studying at the most prestigious ballet academy in the world. We have different priorities, that’s all,” Tifa said.

“Not a fan of eye-candy?” Aerith asked as the elevator reached their floor.

Tifa winced. “Don’t say candy.” She didn’t want to think about anything edible. Possibly for the remainder of the week.

“Sorry,” Aerith apologized as they stepped off the elevator and headed down the hall to their dorm. “I mean, I’m thrilled I got accepted, don’t get me wrong. But having guys like Zack and Cloud for classmates is definitely a bonus. Boys that cute and fun here are usually either taken or gay, and those two are neither.”

“How do you know for sure?”

“I asked!”

Of course she did. Blunt was another quality Tifa needed to add to the growing list of traits that made up Aerith’s unique personality.

“They _are_ cute. And that _was_ fun,” Tifa admitted, “but graduating from here and starting a career with the Midgar Ballet Company is what I have my sights set on. It’s my dream. That takes precedence over Clo—um, dating.”

“Why can’t you do both?”

Tifa sighed. “I don’t need any distractions.”

“You don’t _need_ any. Not you don’t _want_ any,” Aerith pointed out. Before Tifa could argue, she added, “But I can respect that. Nothing wrong with focusing on what’s most important to you.” A short silence followed until they reached the door to their dorm. “Would you think less of me... if I went after Zack?” she asked, avoiding Tifa’s gaze as she fiddled with the key.

Zack had just as many if not more red flags than Cloud, all of which displayed the word **Player** in big, bold letters for anyone with eyes or experience in dealing with his type to see. Yet she didn’t feel right telling her what to do. Aerith had just respected _her_ choices despite disagreeing with them. So she wanted to show her the same courtesy.

“Of course not. You’re your own person. Make your own decisions,” Tifa told her. “Dating is a perfectly normal priority for people our age to have. It’s just not one for me right now.”

Or, at least, she didn’t need it to be.

They let the topic drop once they settled into their room, shifting the conversation to things such as what the following day would entail and what the guys in Nibelheim were actually like, but Tifa found her mind wandering to the blonde boy with the insanely blue eyes even without Aerith’s prodding. Every time she managed to push one image of him away, another seemed to materialize in its place. She recalled his cocky poses, his chipmunk cheeks, and the way he’d given her a warm smile only she seemed to see after she’d been announced the victor of their little game. Though she knew she’d never act on these thoughts, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking them and that was a cause for concern.

Maybe Aerith wasn’t the only one going gaga for the Gongagans after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll do my best to update this regularly! And just a friendly reminder this will eventually get spicy!


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